


Persevere

by Braincoins



Series: Dom!Shiro [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cunnilingus, Dirty Talk, Dom!Shiro, F/M, Language, Orgasm Denial, Pregnancy Scares, Smut, Vaginal Sex, sex in the black lion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 04:29:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15987644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Braincoins/pseuds/Braincoins
Summary: Allura just can't get enough of Shiro domming. She can't get enough of Shiro, period. There's nothing wrong with that... right?





	Persevere

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! Unplanned sequel to "[Relinquish](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13544124)"! I just really like Shiro domming Allura into taking care of herself, okay?  
> ================

            Allura loved it when they were in the Black Lion. Naughty enough to have sex with Shiro anywhere other than their bedroom, but _here_? In the cockpit of this mighty beast, the one place Shiro was, perhaps, at his most powerful? It _thrilled_ her; it was like being drunk without a single drop of nunvill passing her lips.

            And Shiro seemed to know it, too. He usually preferred being in their room, especially for this sort of thing, where he took all the control from her and let her just exist as a being with needs and wants (and having those desires fulfilled repeatedly and very well). They still had soft, gentle love-making where they were equal partners as usual, but Allura had found herself increasingly craving that surrender of power to her beloved paladin. It was so nice to have someone else in charge, especially when the number one thing Shiro seemed to want to do with his power was to make her come over and over and over again.

            The only surprise this time was that _he’d_ been the one to suggest they go to the Black Lion. She had always been the one to bring it up before, so when he walked up to her and slyly whispered in her ear, “You _will_ be in the Black Lion after your meeting this afternoon,” she was practically giddy with joy. The meeting had been interminably long.

            But now, at last, here she was: sitting in the Black Lion’s seat, skirt pushed up, panties pulled to one side, legs spread wide as Shiro licked his way inside her. He was keeping her legs open with his hands, enjoying her ravenously as his tongue stroked the spots he _knew_ she found the most arousing. Normally, he’d tease his way in, barely brush the best bits once or twice, but today he’d gone straight for her most sensitive areas, and he was pressing hard with his tongue, lapping at them insistently.

            Her hands were fists in his hair as she moaned, bucking her hips towards him, riding his tongue. She could still hear his voice from when she’d first walked into the cockpit: _“Have a seat. I need a snack.”_ Whatever had gotten into him today, she definitely had no complaints.

            She arched her back and watched him devour her, chest heaving. His hands slid down her thighs to grab her ass and pull her towards his mouth demandingly. Her voice was tremulous as she whimpered his name. She could feel her climax drawing near, like a storm on the horizon.

            But then he stopped, raised his head and licked his lips as he looked her in the eye. “I’d better stop. Don’t want to ruin my appetite for dinner.”

            She was a little disappointed that he hadn’t continued, but she grinned and welcomed him into her arms as he surged up to kiss her. She was getting used to the taste of herself in his mouth, even getting to like it. He slid his arms around her and pulled her close. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he stood, holding her up so they wouldn’t be parted. Not yet.

            She reveled in the joy he was taking in kissing her, holding her, pressing her close against him. She would have felt anxious and uneasy if anyone else had taken all her power and control from her, but with her paladin she was safe, warm, secure.

            He pulled away from her lips long enough to say, “Stand,” and she unwrapped her legs from him to obey. He unfastened her cape clasp and flung it aside. He rained kisses upon her cheek as she giggled, then bent to her throat. He traced her arteries with his tongue, all the way up to her ears.

            It was so strange to have him doing all these sweet, innocent things when the first thing he’d done was to push her into his seat to eat her out. But it was still nice. Besides, he was in charge right now, unless and until she used the safe word. She stayed silent and enjoyed his affection.

He pulled away to kiss her on the lips again, once, softly. He looked into her eyes as his hands ran down her sides. And then he started to lower himself, too.

            “What are you…?”

            “Shhh.” His gaze was still locked on hers.

            She watched him kneel down, hands almost to her ankles before they started the return journey back up her legs… and _under_ her skirt. His palms smoothed up along her thighs to her hips. She still couldn’t wrest her eyes from his. His fingers hooked into the sides of her panties and started to descend again, carrying her undergarments with them. She bit her lip a little, and he grinned.

            Down, down, until they reached her ankles again. “Step out of them,” he told her.

            She did.

            He stood, brought the scrap of dampened cloth to his nose as if he held a perfumed handkerchief, and then tossed them aside to join her cape on the floor. He pulled her in against him and kissed her hard, passionately, as if the scent of her had inflamed him somehow.

            She clung to his vest and moaned around his tongue. He bent to her throat to suck on her skin. There was no more gentle softness now, his silent demands re-awakening her body’s hunger for him.

            “Go kneel on the chair,” he whispered in hot breaths against her ear, “hands on the seatback.” He released her.

            She moved to obey – taking the liberty of making sure she wouldn’t be kneeling on her skirt – then looked over her shoulder at him with a too-innocent smile. “Like this?”

            “Just like that,” he agreed. “No peeking now.”

            She turned her face away, excited to see – well, feel – what he’d do next. She felt her skirt slide up along the backs of her legs, pushed up over her ass until it stayed out of his way. His hands caressed her skin softly, almost teasingly, before he slid a single metal finger into her.

            She gasped as he stroked inside her, harder than he normally did when he was just starting out. But he wasn’t rough, just …direct. He slid his fingers along her walls where all the nerve endings awaited his touch, and she trembled in response. He knew exactly what to do, and, apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to dilly-dally.

            “Well, you’re getting wet enough, but is this too much?” he asked.

            “No, no, this is good,” she told him.

            “Good enough for another finger?”

            “YES.”

            He chuckled. “Now don’t get too demanding, my love,” he warned her. Before she could reply, he put another finger in, so all she could do was moan.

            She _loved_ it when he used his right hand. It was probably terrible to think that way, given how he’d come by it, but it was so oddly-textured, warm but still cooler than his skin somehow (unless he activated it). Truth be told, what she loved best was that the Galra Empire had done this to him in order to use him as a weapon, but here he was using it to bring pleasure, not pain. It felt like a deliberate act of rebellion against them when Shiro used it to make her come.

            As before, he wasn’t slow with it. He moved his fingers within her, beckoning – almost _taunting_ – her climax closer. He made hard, distinct strokes, and she rocked her hips back towards his hand.

            He stopped moving his fingers but left them inside her as he leaned forward to ask, “Is this all it takes to unravel you?”

            “Not… _quite_ all,” she purred back as she gathered air enough to say it.

            He chuckled. “More then?”

            “Yes.”

            “Ask nicely.” _We’re back to that again_. Not that she minded.

            “Please give me more?”

            “As you wish.” He kissed her neck once, straightened up, and plunged three fingers in all at once.

            She cried out as he began finger-fucking her, and not gently at all. His other hand was on her shoulder, holding her in place, and she was desperately thrusting herself back to meet his forward movements. _Yes, yes, let me get off on your hand. Let us show that witch all the good you can do with this thing she meant to use for evil._

            “Still good?” he asked.

            “So good, _so very good_ ,” she confirmed. “Please, more. I want to come on your…”

            He stopped and then, with deliberate slowness, pulled his fingers out of her. It was sweet torture to feel him withdraw, but she hoped it just meant that he’d be replacing his hand with something even better. She caught her breath as she waited.

            “Mmm,” she heard him from behind her, “still so tasty, even when it’s licked off my fingers.”

            “Takashi?”

            “Yes?”

            “Will you please fuck me now? With your cock?” She knew she had to be specific, after all.

            “Well, you’re ready enough for it, it seems.”

            “I am, yes.”

            She heard a zipper descending. “You want it slow or fast today?”

            She wanted it _now_ , she didn’t really care about anything else. “Whichever you want.”

            “You just want to be filled? Don’t care how?”

            “Not so long as it’s you. Your tongue, your fingers, your cock. I love every part of you; you know that.”

            He leaned forward to kiss her ear; she could feel his erection pressing against her through his underwear. “And I love you. More than every star in every sky.”

            Her heart melted, but she was still aching to feel him inside her, so she pressed back against him hopefully. He moved away from her.

            “Now, now. You’re going to get my clothes all wet.”

            She snorted. “You’ve done all the work to get me this wet in the first place,” she pointed out.

            “Oh, so it’s my fault?” She heard cloth rustle behind her.

            “Mostly.”

            “Mostly?”

            “Well, it’s not your fault that I want you so badly, that I need you so much. But it is definitely your fault that I love you.”

            “I’m willing to accept the blame for that.” And then, at last, she could feel his cock.

            He was just sliding it back and forth between her folds, slow and steady as a metronome, hands on her hips to steady himself. So close to what she wanted but still so far.

            She whimpered. “Please don’t tease me?”

            “But isn’t it good sometimes?” he asked. “When you finally get what you were waiting for after so long?”

            “Yes, but I don’t want to wait.”

            “So impatient.” His hands slid over her ass and legs and drifted lazily back to her hips.

            And then, at long last, he gave her what she wanted, pressing into her in one quick, smooth motion. She moaned, head falling back, and he used his left hand to gather up her hair, pulling on it just enough to keep her head at that angle. He pulled out and thrust forward again, then bent forward to lap at her throat. His other hand slid around to cup her breast through her bodice.

            “Takashi, more, please,” she panted.

            “Are you telling me what to do?” He tightened his grip on her hair but didn’t pull any harder.

            “No, no…but please…”

            He straightened away from her neck. “You’re always so greedy, Allura.” He pulled his right hand back to her hip, taking the opportunity to push the skirt up again as it’d been about to fall. “And you know the rules: you have to ask specifically.”

            “Fuck me harder, Takashi, please?” She put some extra pout into the request.

            She heard him laugh a little, but he still said, “That’s better.” And, as he always had before, he began fulfilling her request. In fact, where he normally built up speed and power slowly, he suddenly thrust in hard.

            She cried out, more out of surprise than anything else – it certainly didn’t _hurt_ a bit, she was so wet – and after a few more hard thrusts, he leaned forward again to purr in her ear, “That what you wanted?”

            “That’s what I _needed_ ,” she told him, and he just chuckled and resumed pounding her as she gripped the seat tightly. If he’d been as strong as she was, she’d have been slammed up against the seatback by now; as it was, she was barely keeping herself in position.

            By the Ancients, this wonderful man she loved had such a hard, thick cock; she couldn’t get enough of him. She loved him, would gladly give up sex with him if it meant she could just stay with him always, but she dearly hoped she’d never be called upon to make that choice because it was like he always knew exactly how to please her (even if he demanded, at times like this, that she ask for it in words). She loved how he filled her, loved the way he felt inside her, loved feeling him come deep within her and hearing him groan with the release.

            She could feel her own release building as he continued, shoving himself into her at the same time he yanked her back against him. Each strike was like a lightning jolt of ecstasy along her veins. “Ta-Takashi… I’m…”

            He stopped. All at once, stopped dead. He was still buried balls deep in her, but he wasn’t moving at all. “What was that?” He sounded more than a little breathless.

            “Takashiiii, why did you stop?”

            “Well, it seemed like you needed me to.” Was he smirking? It was hard to tell from just his voice, but he might’ve been.

            “I didn’t say ‘Coalition.’”

            “Oh, well,” and he pulled out of her entirely, letting go of her hair.

            She half-turned to glare at him. “Oh, that’s mean!”

            “You said the safe word,” he pointed out.

            “Only to say that I hadn’t said it!”

            He stretched his arms behind his back, apparently unconcerned about his erection – the only unclothed part of him – that was still glistening with her juices. “But you still said it.”

            “I don’t want you to stop.”

            “You’re sure?” He arched an eyebrow.

            “I have never been so sure of anything in my life.”

            He smiled and stepped back towards her. He took hold of her shoulders and pulled her upright, the better to turn her face to his and kiss her deeply. Even when he was taking total control of her like this, she could feel how much he loved her. Being fucked like a toy didn’t mean she _was_ one to him. She loved how naturally and easily he could flow from dominance and power into sweetness and soft love.

            And, indeed, as he pulled away from her lips, he paused just a breath away from her to let her see that love shine from his eyes before he pushed her back down. She almost missed grabbing hold of the seat this time. He pushed her skirt back up and eased himself back into her with a soft groan of satisfaction. She closed her eyes to focus on the feel of him entering her once more.

            But when he started moving, he was slow and gentle, letting her feel every inch of his rock-hard length pushing into her before pulling back out again. “You are always a treat worth savoring,” he said.

            And it wasn’t that it didn’t feel good; of course it felt good to experience him so fully. But she wanted him to hit that bundled pleasure center, wanted him to strike it fast and often, wanted him as deep as she could have him when she finally came.

            “Aahh, more, more! Please, Takashi, you know how much I love it when you fuck me hard and deep.”

            “You do seem to enjoy it. Is that what you want now?”

            _Okay, so I didn’t_ technically _ask for it. Smart arse._ “Take me hard. Make me scream your name.”

            “Those sound like demands.” He was still going slow, steady, rocking his hips up into her.

            Her breath shuddered out of her. “Please fuck me harder?”

            “Better.” And he did. She groaned in relief.

            She was getting steadily louder as he pumped into her as if he were trying to break her in half. She was vaguely aware that she was babbling in Altean, but she figured he knew the words for “yes, more, please, just like that,” by now.

            She could feel the tension coiling within her. She eagerly expected the sweet release of climax any tick now…

            He pulled out again.

            And she half-turned towards him again. “Why?”

            “Why what?” He _was_ smirking, damn him.

            “Why do you keep stopping?” She did turn now, stepping off the seat so she could face him and, more importantly, reach out to stroke his cock enticingly. “Don’t you want to fill me up until I overflow?”

            He just took hold of her hands in his own, holding them like this was some charmingly antiquated first date and not, in fact, a raunchy fuck session inside one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. “Of course I do, dearest. But I’m not actually convinced it’s what you want.”

            She boggled at him. “Whatever gave you _that_ idea?!”

            He shrugged. “I just want to be sure.”

            She studied him. That phrase usually meant that she needed to be more specific. She wasn’t sure how much more specific she could be unless she resorted to single words. _Cock. Cunt. Fuck. Come. NOW._

            He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. She returned it somewhat distractedly. He had a plan of some sort, she just _knew_ it. That’s why they were in the Black Lion, that’s why _he’d_ suggested it for a change. She just couldn’t figure out what it was.

            But all of his other plans had turned out amazing, so she decided to play along. “I very badly need you to fuck me until I come, Takashi. And until you do, as well. Please?” She pouted at him and batted her eyelashes.

            His smile shifted into a smirk. “Ask again.”

            She leaned in closer. “Please pound my cunt and fill me with cum?” She hadn’t blushed in a while, but that was certainly doing the trick. Her beloved was being dirtier than usual today.

            And he was blushing, too, as he dropped her hands to take hold of her shoulders and gently turned her around. “Get back on the chair then.”

            She decided to do him one better. She hiked her skirt and kneeled on the seat, facing the back again, but this time reached around to spread herself for him, giving him a perfect view of the target she desperately needed him to hit. (Not that he had had trouble with his aim before.)

“ _Very_ desperate, aren’t you?”

            “Yes.”

            “We’ll see about that,” and before she could ask what _that_ meant, he practically impaled her on his cock.

            “FUCK, yes,” she groaned, letting go of herself so she could grab the chair again. There was no slow _anything_ this time, and she let herself be pushed up against the back of the seat. She just wanted him to keep slamming her like this until she couldn’t take it anymore. It wouldn’t take long…

            He stopped inside her.

            “TAKASHI.”

            He rocked his hips, and she whimpered. He leaned in to ask her, voice low and deep, “How badly do you need to come right now?”

            “VERY.”

            “What are you willing to do for it?”

            “Anything,” she panted. “Please. I’ll do anything, but I need to come. I’m desperate, please. Please?”

            “Anything?” he repeated.

            “Anything,” she promised.

            “I’m going to hold you to that.” And he stabbed into her again.

            She was so grateful that she could have wept. He was pulling and pushing her hips to meet his own body as he thrust into her at speed, hard enough that, even though he was human, she thought he might bruise her thighs. But she needed it like cool water for a parched throat.

            Her climax finally washed over her, rocking her with the sweetest bliss she’d ever known. She was distantly aware of the feeling of him coming as she clenched around that deeply-buried dick, just like she’d wanted. She’d waited so long for this moment and it was finally here and _thank the ANCIENTS_ it was perfect.

            He fell onto her, hands over hers on the back of the seat. She felt him pant against her ear and smiled. “Mmmm, thank you,” she murmured.

            “You’re welcome and, as always, thank _you_ ,” he replied. He kissed her ear somewhat sloppily and then pushed himself up to withdraw from her. He tucked himself away as she smoothed her skirt back down. He reached out to steady her as she clambered back off the seat again.

            She pushed her way into his arms. “That was wonderful, but don’t you _dare_ do that again.”

            “I can’t tell if you mean that or not. But in any case, I got what I wanted.”

            “As did I.”

            He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I meant that you promised you’d do _anything_.”

            She pulled away enough to get a good look at him, eyebrows rising. _Does he have something_ else _in mind? Gods know I won’t complain._ “I did. And I meant it.”

            “Good. Because you know what I want, Allura? More than anything else?”

            “What’s that?” She was practically dying to hear what Shiro wanted so badly that he’d had to worm this promise out of her.

            “I want you,” he paused to kiss her forehead, “to go back to our room,” he kissed one eye mark, “right now,” and then the other, “strip down,” now her nose, “and then put on your nightgown.”

            “Oooh? And then what?” So far, it wasn’t anything too kinky, but she was sure that meant it was just a matter of time. He was undoubtedly easing into whatever this unusual request was going to be.

            “And then,” he kissed her lips, softly, sweetly; the kind of kiss that made her melt not because of hot passion but because of the sure, steady warmth of his love for her. “Then I want you to lay down and take a nap.”

            She blinked and pulled out of his arms to stare at him. “A nap?”

            He nodded. “In point of fact, I want you to take the rest of today and all of tomorrow off. No Coalition duties, no missions, no logistics, _nothing_.”

            She shook her head instantly. “No. No, I can’t, I…”

            “I’ve already looked at your schedule. There’s nothing that the team and I can’t handle. You can afford to take this time off.”

            “I can’t afford to take _any_ time off! There’s still…”

            He laid a finger against her lips. “You promised. You said you’d do _anything_. I held up my end of the bargain.”

            She folded her arms to glare at him. She could still feel the proof of his ecstasy dripping down her thighs, and _this_ was the supposedly-kinky thing he wanted, that he’d worked so hard to wring out of her?

            “This was your plan all along.”

            He nodded and smiled. “Yep. I’ve tried wearing you out in the past, but that hasn’t worked. So, I went to plan B.”

            She huffed. “Shiro, this…”

            “You. Promised.” He was just standing there smiling. Because he knew he’d won.

            “It’s a good thing I love you so much.”

            “I am the luckiest man in the universe,” he agreed. “And I am not above using every tool at my disposal to take care of you.”

            “You know you’re not my nanny.”

            “I know. We both work hard, Allura. If it helps, I scheduled some time off for myself in a few quintants. That’s when I’ll best be able to get away. But tonight and tomorrow are the best times for you to rest up. I wanted to be sure you’d take the opportunity.”

            Her annoyance was starting to dissipate. “Well… ok. Since _you’re_ taking a break, too. And I did promise.”

            He beamed. _Stop looking so happy and cute, dammit,_ she groused to herself as he leaned in to kiss her.

            “I love you,” he said against her lips.

            She sighed out the last of her anger. “And I you.”

            “Go on. I have to clean up in here. Scritch the mice for me.”

            “I shall.” She went to pick up her discarded cape and panties. “I hope Black enjoyed the show.”

            Shiro laughed. “She’s mildly annoyed, but she seems to like how happy we both are afterwards.”

            Allura couldn’t help smiling at that. “Does that mean we can do this more often?”

            “Maybe,” he allowed.

            She slid up against him. “As in… right now?”

            “Right now?!” He was incredulous.

            She straddled one of his legs and ground herself against his thigh. “Just one more time before I have to go take this nap?”

            He kissed her cheek. “Honestly, Allura.”

            “Is that a ‘no’?” she asked, running one hand up along his chest.

            He studied her for a minute, then shook his head. “That’s a ‘not right now.’ What’s gotten into you lately?”

            “Can’t it just be you?” she purred. “Can’t it just be how much I love it when my strong, powerful paladin takes me to be his obedient lover?”

            He was blushing again. _How is he this cute when just a few doboshes ago he was making me beg to be fucked?_ “Maybe. But… I don’t know, it’s like you’re insatiable lately. Like you can’t go more than two vargas without me.”

            She blinked and her eyes widened. She took a step away from him as she realized he was right. Her mouth went dry and her blood ran cold.

            “Allura? Are you okay?”

            “Oh, quiznak,” she breathed.

            “What is it?”

            She swallowed hard and looked back to him. She tried to keep her voice steady. “Do you remember how, before our first time together, I told you contraception was unnecessary because I was not yet in one of my fertile periods?”

            It was his turn for realization. “That changed, didn’t it?”

            She nodded. “Most likely.”

            He exhaled and said nothing for a long moment. When he did speak, she could tell he was in problem-solving mode; there was less of her love and more of the Black Paladin in his tone. “I assume there’s a way to check?”

            “Of course. I’ll stop by the infirmary for a scan on the way to bed. But, well, considering how frequently we’ve been…”

            “And without any protection,” he acknowledged. “I know. Scan first, then try to rest.”

            He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead. It felt nice, and part of her wanted him to kiss her lips again. Then her neck. Then… _shut up_ , she bid her suddenly-insistent libido.

            “I have to clean up Black,” Shiro said. “You have to go get scanned and then hold up your end of our bargain.”

            “Maybe a cold shower before the nap, too.”

            “If you think it will help.”

            “I think it might be necessary.” She headed for the door but turned back to look at him as it opened. “You know we’ll need to talk about this more when you come to bed.”

            He nodded. “Yeah, I know. Get the scan, so we know what, exactly, we’ll have to talk about.”

            “I will.”

            She left the Black Lion feeling scared and confused. She hadn’t even realized, hadn’t stopped to think. She’d never had any trouble realizing when her fertile period was coming on before. It had always seemed so obvious: the increased desires (especially for food and sex), the irritation and trouble sleeping. She’d been irritated and had trouble sleeping ever since she awoke from her 10,000-year nap. She’d never loved anyone the way she loved Shiro, so her constant need to be with him had seemed perfectly normal. She supposed she had been eating a bit more, but again, she’d been distracted by Coalition affairs.

            She’d never screwed up this badly, and now she had to go get scanned to see what consequences there might be. It wasn’t the scan itself that worried her, of course, but what to do with the results. _This would be a terrible time to be with child. This is a terrible universe to bring a child into!_

             A pregnancy would be simple enough to take care of at this stage. But, on the other hand, it would be _Takashi’s_ child. She didn’t really know what she wanted to do, and she feared what the scan would tell her.

 

 

            “Did you get any sleep?” he asked when he walked into their room. Allura was sitting up in bed, in her nightgown, playing with the mice. They squeaked their greetings to him.

            “I… rested. I couldn’t really sleep.”

            He walked in, already unbuckling his belt. “Best I can ask, under the circumstances.”

            Shiro hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it all day. He could focus on a job when he was at it, but as soon as it was done, there was the reminder again. He’d just buckled down and gone on to the next task. He was picking up Allura’s slack, and if she really was pregnant, then she needed the rest even more.

            He sat down on the edge of the bed, near Allura, to take his boots off. “So?”

            “I am not with child.”

            He exhaled relief.

            “Not yet, anyway.”

            “Not yet?” he asked.

            “We’d only just had a very enthusiastic session in the Black Lion; the scan wouldn’t have been able to detect if that one ‘took’ or not. I’ll scan again tomorrow to be sure.”

            He nodded. “Okay. Alright, everything’s okay for now.”

            She turned to the mice. “Platt, would you mind?”

            Platt squeaked their agreement and bounded off. Shiro’s attention was taken by Chulatt jumping up onto his leg. He duly gave ear-scritchings. “I’m glad you got some rest, at least. I’m sure the mice were a big help.”

            “They have been, as always,” Allura agreed. “And I picked up some things from the infirmary that might be helpful for us, as well.”

            He arched an eyebrow. “Altean condoms?”

            She tilted her head. “I don’t know that Earth term.”

            “A type of contraceptive.” He started explaining it until he felt Platt at his feet. The mouse had two bags – each about as big as Platt was – in their mouth. “Oh, hey.” He bent over to hold his hand down. Platt trundled onto his palm before letting go of the bags and collapsing.

            “Oh, I’m sorry, Platt!” Allura cooed as Shiro raised the mouse up to the bedcovers. “I didn’t realize it’d be so much for you.”

            Platt rolled off his hand and Allura scratched their tummy lightly in gratitude. Chulatt ran over, trying to fan their exhausted companion with their little hands. Shiro looked at the two bags: soft cloth, with Altean printing on them, but otherwise identical shades of light blue. “And these are?”

            “Oh.” She held her hand out for them. He gave them to her to examine, and then she handed one back to him. “Those are for you, these are for me.”

            He tugged the bag open and looked inside. “Pills?”

            She nodded. “Hormonal contraceptive pills, not like your wearable latex barriers. And before you bring it up, I checked the active ingredients in these against your bio-scan. They should work perfectly well. I’ll be taking ones formulated for my body in addition to you taking yours. Two layers of protection.”

            “Great. I’ll start taking them right away.”

            “I was hoping you’d say that.” She nodded towards her vanity and he saw two packets of water. “I can’t ask Platt to get those.”

            He smiled and stood to retrieve them. He brought one to her and took a sip from his. She pulled a pill out of her bag as he fished one out of his.

            “Oh, good, they look different,” he sighed in relief.

            She laughed. “Afraid you’d get them mixed up?”

            “It’s possible; the bags are the same.”

            “They are not! They’re labeled differently!”

            “In _Altean_.”

            She huffed. “We have to improve your reading.” She put the pill in her mouth and drank some water.

            He grinned, popped his own pill, and washed it down. “Okay, so that’s taken care of,” he said, closing his bag. “But we’ve still got the underlying issue to deal with: what happens if you _do_ become pregnant?”

            She nodded, closed her bag, and set it aside so she could hold onto her packet with both hands. “We might still have to face that, depending on tomorrow’s scan. These pills can’t stop what’s already happened. But there are, of course, ways to… see to that.”

            “Yeah, I figured there would be. You know I’d support whatever decision you made.”

            Her mouth twisted. “Yes, but I would want us to make that decision together.”

            “And I support your decision to have us make that decision together.” He smiled, hoping she would, too. He meant it, of course, but he still hoped the phrasing would make things a little less heavy.

            She did smile. “Thank you. I’ve been hearing my own thoughts rattle around in my head for vargas now; I want to hear yours.”

            “Fair enough.” He took a deep breath before he started. “Like I said, I’ll support your decision: it’s your body, so I think your opinion carries more weight than mine. But as for how I feel personally? I don’t know. I’d love to have a child with you, Allura, but… maybe not right this second? Not when everything’s so chaotic. It would be hard on you to be pregnant during a war, and it’d be terrible for our child to be brought up in this.”

            She nodded. “But what if we don’t get another chance at this? I mean, it’s a war; anything can happen.”

            He reached over to take her hand. “I don’t know. There’s _no_ way to know about that. But I do know that I will always love you, no matter what. I’m going to do everything in my power so that we both survive this war, and then we can have children in a more peaceful universe.

            “If you are pregnant and you want to keep it, we’ll do that. I’ll be right by your side through all of it, and I will help all I can.”

            She smiled at him fondly and gave his hand a squeeze. “Even though I know you’d never abandon me, it’s good to hear you say it. I’m still hoping we don’t have to make that decision yet.”

            He leaned in to kiss her. “We’re in this together, no matter what.”

            She hugged him as best she could, given the awkward angles they were at. “Can we just sleep tonight? I just want to be held.”

            “Of course,” he agreed. “Drink some more while I get undressed.”

            He stood and took the bags of pills to the vanity, taking a long pull from his water as he did so. He sat them all down and unzipped his vest. He quickly stripped down to his underwear and climbed into bed; she already had the bedclothes pulled back for him. The mice were up on her pillow instead of making themselves scarce (he had no idea where they went when he and Allura did things besides sleep).

            He laid down and she practically burrowed into his arms. He kissed her forehead and held her, letting the warmth of her next to him pull him towards sleep. But just when he was about to drift off, secure in the knowledge that, whatever changes would come, they’d face them together, she spoke.

            “First thing tomorrow morning,” she murmured, voice contentedly drowsy, “I am going to hold you down and ride you until I’ve come at least three times.”

            It seemed some things wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.


End file.
